Healer
by Misanagi
Summary: Part of the Briny Deep Series. Heero and Quatre meet. AU, fantasy, some angst.


**Healer**

**By Misanagi**

Rating: PG

Pairing/Characters: Gen. Heero and Quatre friendship.

Warnings: AU, fantasy, some angst.

Summary: Heero and Quatre meet.

Notes: Part of the Briny Deep Series.

Written for the 444 on SDQB. Prompt #3: Ideal.

Thanks a lot to Anne for the beta.

* * *

The house was bigger than any Heero had seen up close. It had four levels that seemed to reach to the sky and two different wings. He walked silently behind the matron, looking right and left, marveling at the elegance of the place. He was shown into his sleeping quarters. The room was bigger than his old house, and it even had a small cot. He sat on the cot and compared its softness to the straw mattress he had slept in all his life. He liked the cot better.

By the second day he had already learnt all his chores. He was to tend to the horses, but only the tamed ones. Master Winner himself had given the order to keep Heero away from the dangerous stallions and to keep his duties light, giving the child time to play. After all, Heero was only eight, and Master Winner seemed to be very kind to all his servants. Why else would he have allowed Heero to come live in the big house after his mother died?

One day, Heero looked through a window and saw another boy his age. The blond boy playing violin wasn't a servant. He was dressed in fine clothing and he looked a lot like all the ladies who lived in the house. After asking a maid, Heero was told that the boy's name was Quatre, and he was the only boy amongst many sisters.

The Winner estate was large enough that Heero almost never saw the other boy. Heero was the youngest servant and Quatre was the only person in the entire estate close to his age. However, Heero never dared to talk to him, and contented himself with tending to the horses and playing on the large fields.

Heero had been in the Winner house only a few weeks when he was woken up from his slumber by women crying. He walked to the kitchen where he found most of the staff awake, working silently, and looking sad. "What happened?" he asked in a small voice.

"They just came," answered the matron. She was crying. "Young Master Quatre is one of them. He's a Healer."

"Oh," Heero said, and understood why everyone looked so sad.

* * *

The next day, after breakfast, Heero headed for the stables. While he went to the well to get a bucket of fresh water he noticed something in the distance. There was a horse trotting near the fence, one that wasn't part of the Winner stables. A man Heero had never seen before was on the horse, sitting stiffly and hitting the horse with his crop, even though Heero could tell it wasn't necessary. However, what really caught Heero's attention was the fact that Quatre Winner was running beside the horse, looking tired and hot under the morning sun.

Heero stood there, staring, until Quatre and the man disappeared into the woods. He finished dragging the bucket into the stables and changed the horses' water.

"Hector, I just saw Master Winner's son running outside."

"His training has started," replied Hector. The other stable hand was older than Heero, about nineteen, and he was the one who actually trained the horses. "He's a Healer. He's not free anymore."

Everyone knew that Healers were discovered young, and as soon as a noble Healer was found he was no longer considered a part of his or her family, but a member of the Order. The parents could still care and provide for their children, but the Healers' decisions and teachings overruled those of the parents. Each child was assigned a master to teach them, and that person had complete control over the child's life. Heero shuddered. He wouldn't like to be in that situation.

"What about that man's horse?" Heero asked.

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."

Heero nodded at Hector and went back to his chores.

A couple of hours later, he was brushing Saaba's mane when the beige mare suddenly stood up, jumped over the half door of her stable and ran out into the woods. Heero ran after her but the mare was too fast. He ended up wandering in the woods, looking for Saaba, trying to follow her trail. Finally, he spotted her tail behind some bushes, right by the river.

"There you are!" And as the words left his mouth, Heero noticed that the mare wasn't alone.

Quatre Winner was leaning against a tree, his head low and his hand holding onto one of Saaba's legs. "I'm sorry," he said, without raising his head.

Heero walked closer to Quatre and then knelt beside him. "Why?"

"For making you look for Saaba." Quatre raised his head and smiled slightly. "I didn't think, and you must have been worried."

"How's that your fault?" Heero gave Quatre a puzzled look.

Quatre blushed slightly. He looked to both sides and then leaned closer to Heero. "Can you keep a secret?" After Heero nodded, Quatre whispered, "I called her."

Heero frowned. "She couldn't have heard you all the way here." He didn't like being lied to.

The boy bit his lower lip and diverted his eyes before looking back at Heero. "That's the secret," Quatre said. "I call her with my heart, and she always hears me."

"How?"

Quatre shrugged.

"Is it because you are a Healer?" Heero wondered. "Can all Healers do that?"

"I don't know." Quatre shrugged again.

They sat in silence for a moment. "Why are you out here?" Heero asked after a while. "Simona should be serving lunch soon."

Quatre lowered his eyes. "I'm tired. That's why I called Saaba. I wanted her to get me home."

Heero noticed for the first time that Quatre's fine clothes were dirty and there were twigs on his hair. "Is it because he made you run?"

"Yes." Quatre shifted his eyes to the river. "Master Alex says I'm weak and Healers need to be strong. He's going to teach me."

"I don't like him." Heero crossed his arms above his chest.

"What's your name?" Quatre asked, instead of replying to Heero.

"Heero Yuy."

"I'm Quatre Winner." Quatre looked at his hands and then at Heero. "Are you scared of me?"

"No, why?" Heero frowned. "You don't look that tough."

"Because since they found out what I am, they are treating me differently."

"Who?"

"Everyone," Quatre answered softly.

"You are too skinny," Heero stated. "I'm not scared of skinny people."

Quatre laughed. "You are skinny too."

"Good," Heero replied and nodded once. "I'm not supposed to be scary."

This time they both laughed.

"I need to get back," said Quatre, standing up and leaning on Saaba for support. He was about to mount the mare, even though she wasn't saddled, but suddenly stopped and turned around. He looked at Heero and his eyes didn't shift once. "Heero, would you like to be my friend?"

Heero thought about it and smiled. "Yes."

Quatre smiled back and then, grabbing a hold of Saaba's mane, he climbed on the mare. Heero was already walking when he noticed that Quatre had a hand extended out to him. "Come on, we can ride back together."

Heero shook his head. "I can't ride."

"I'll teach you."

He grabbed a hold of Quatre's hand and awkwardly climbed behind him. "Hold on," Quatre said, and the mare trotted back home.

* * *

- The End - 


End file.
